Thousands of healthcare professionals urge Parliament not to legalise assisted suicide

More than 3,400 doctors, nurses and other practitioners have warned the House of Commons against removing end-of-life protections for the vulnerable.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister organised by campaign group Our Duty of Care (ODOC), signatories expressed “great concern” at current proposals to legalise assisted suicide.

Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due to be debated at the end of this month, and would allow those deemed to be terminally ill to receive help to kill themselves.

‘Prohibition of killing’

Highlighting how quickly pseudo-safeguards had been eroded in Canada, the medical professionals argued that it was “impossible for any Government to draft assisted suicide laws which include protection from coercion and from future expansion”.

The current law is the protection for the vulnerable.

Furthermore, the letter stated, the “shift from preserving life to taking life is enormous and should not be minimised.

“The prohibition of killing is present in all societies due to the immeasurable worth and inherent dignity of every human life. The prohibition of killing is the safeguard. The current law is the protection for the vulnerable.”

Do no harm

It continued: “Any change would threaten society’s ability to safeguard vulnerable patients from abuse; it would undermine the trust the public places in physicians; and it would send a clear message to our frail, elderly and disabled patients about the value that society places on them as people.”

The signatories, including former Welsh Chief Medical Officer Dame Deirdre Hine, 23 medical directors at hospices and NHS trusts, and dozens of medical professors, concluded by reminding the Prime Minister of their “legal duty of care for the safety and wellbeing of our patients”.

Consequently, they added: “We, the undersigned, will never take our patients’ lives – even at their request. But for the sake of us all, and for future generations, we ask do not rush in to hasty legislation but instead fund excellent palliative care.”

Call to action

Welcoming the action, The Christian Institute’s Director Ciarán Kelly said: “In less than three weeks, MPs will vote on a Bill to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales. It is truly a matter of life and death.

“Doctors, nurses and other practitioners have a hugely significant voice in this debate. Thankfully, a great many of them are resolutely against assisted suicide.”

“I would urge any medical professional, including those who have retired, to add their signature to the letter via the Our Duty of Care website”.

Ethical and practical concerns

One of the organisers of the ODOC letter, Dr Gillian Wright, recently joined Mr Kelly for a live panel discussion on the dangers of the Bill.

She told attendees that health care professionals did not wish to “be complicit” in the “intentional taking of life”, and called for “better palliative care for those who are suffering”.

Dr Wright warned that viewing death by assisted suicide “as a treatment” would lead to a fundamental shift in “medical ethics” and raise huge practical concerns with regard to assessing capacity, identifying coercion and caring for those who are particularly vulnerable.